


Wings Torn by Daggers

by local_dragon_haunt



Series: Wings Torn By Daggers [1]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: AU, Angst, Blood, Hiccup! whump, Hybrid - Freeform, Shapeshifting, Torture, Transformation, dragon hybrid, dragon! hiccup, except just not from me because I need to write MORE, half dragon! hiccup, half night fury, night fury! Hiccup, protect this boy, shapeshifting! Dragons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-14 11:27:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16039562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/local_dragon_haunt/pseuds/local_dragon_haunt
Summary: Why Dagur used the witch to turn Toothless human, Hiccup didn't know.It was hypocritical- the Berserker had been wanting a Night Fury of his own for a while now, and when he finally had Hiccup and Toothless in a corner, he just...completely got rid of the creature with the wings he so desired?It wasn't until a few hours later, when Hiccup was choking on the potion Dagur had forced down his throat, that he realized the madman's true plan.Why make getting a Night Fury and revenge against Hiccup two separate tasks, when he could save a lot more energy by killing two birds with one stone?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I originally came up with this concept mid-2016, and this is just an edited version of what 15 year-old me wrote all that time ago.
> 
> Basically, this story takes place in an AU where dragons have magic and human forms. During her reign, the queen banned her subjects from shapeshifting because she thought they were insignificant and weak forms- more and more dragons were being killed when they tried to trade with humans, and she had gotten sick of the lack of resources brought back.
> 
> But when she died, part of her mindset still stuck in the dragons' minds, and the fact that they could shapeshift was more of a concept instead of an actual fact.
> 
> That is, until Dagur and Alvin get wind of the legends about Dragon Magic, and decide to try and harness it for themselves.

Oh, gods it wasn't right.

Everything was wrong, unnatural.

This situation wasn't _right._

Toothless stared at his shaking paws—no, hands. The unnatural, soft skin felt wrong. It looked wrong. H-his body. It felt wrong as well. His wings were still there. And his tail. He could tell that much.

The pain was gone, it disappeared a while ago, leaving burning numbness in its place.

And all he could do was stare. Stare at his hands because gods they weren't supposed to show up like this, because only he can do that but it's been so long.

Oh, but he was wrong.

Wrong wrong wrong wrong _wrong._

Everything was so gods-damned messed up.

"Toothless...?"

That voice...it—it was Hiccup's, right? Yeah. Hiccups.

"Toothless, bud, look at me."

There was a hand on his shoulder. His human shoulder that shouldn't be there.

There was another hand. On his chin. His chin that he didn't have three minutes ago, because it _wasn't there when he was a dragon_ \- but what is he now?

His head was forced up. Big, forest green eyes stared back at him. Eyes that were achingly familiar, eyes that meant he was safe.

Those green eyes kneeled in front of him, thumbs brushing away tears from his cheeks.

Oh, gods, had he been crying?

"H-Hiccup..?" He finally managed to rasp out. How? He didn't know He reached out and clung to the fabric of his rider's tunic because needed to feel safe and it was his first instinct.

No, it was wrong.

He should be the one comforting his rider. Protecting him. Not the other way around.

But oh, gods he needed it.

Hiccup cracked a weak smile, setting his hands on Toothless' shoulders.

"Yeah, bud. It's me."

They stared at each other. They stared because that's all they could really do, wasn't it? It was comforting. It was a way— no, their way of saying 'it's alright.'

It's alright that they didn't know that Alvin's kidnapping of Stoick the Vast (by some miracle, obviously) was just a plan to lure them here. It's alright that they didn't know that Dagur had set him up with a bargain to do it. It's alright that they didn't know about the witch Dagur had blackmailed into doing his dirty work.

It's alright that they didn't know that they had walked right into a trap.

Swallowing a sob that was rising in his throat because, gods, he needed to be strong for his rider right now, Toothless attempted to put his weight on the human legs that most definitely shouldn't be there because he was a dragon but oh, dragons have human forms, too, but not since the queen ruled because she banned them.

Butshe'sgonenowandthatmeans...

"Toothless, bud, calm down. I'm right here." Hiccup soothed.

Out went a shaky breath. In went another one.

"I'm here, bud."

His rider guided him. Somehow, they made their way back to the others.

It was agony.

His wings were limp. His tail was too weak to balance him.

It was all wrong.

His fire felt wrong. Wh...where was it? Where was his magic??

Gonewrongmissinggonegonewrongmissingwrongwrongwrong...

"Bud, c'mon." Hiccup pleaded quietly. What he was asking him to do seemed lost to both rider and dragon at that point.

He didn't respond. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity his rider came to his rescue, guiding him with more care than he deserved to a spot of the cold stone ground.

Sitting felt wrong.

Walking felt wrong.

Everything was so damned wrong.

There- there were more voices. Familiar voices. T-the other riders, right?

Hiccup was responding to them now. He sounded conflicted, confused, stressed...

Scared.

His rider was scared. Sure, it wasn't like he hadn't seen him like that before,

But this kind of scared felt wrong. Toothless could smell the fear, radiating off his rider like the prey he hunted in the forest back on Berk. But that smell shouldn't be on his rider.

Wrong.

He was shivering. Why was he shivering? His scales usually—

No. Gone.

Someone else was talking now. N-not one of the riders, it was too deep. Too— old.

Was it Alvin's?

No, not Alvin's. His voice had a stinging coldness to its undertone. This one was...warm. Warmer. Soothing even. Not belonging to Alvin.

The voice was getting closer now. Toothless involuntarily shrunk away. Something was draped over his back. A blanket..? No, too- too heavy. Or maybe too light. He didn't know anymore.

He shifted his eyesight that was too dull and too blurry and _he couldn't see a damn thing because of it_ , over to see the material covering him.

It was a coat— no, a cape.

To be more specific, it was Stoick the Vast's cape. The man was sitting on his right.

He reached up with the hands that he shouldn't have because _dragons don't have hands_ , and brought the blanket closer around himself. He was wearing…. clothes. The same color as his scales that weren't there anymore. How had he just realized that?

The clothes felt wrong.

They felt suffocating, like a trap.

His wings twitched under the cape, begging to fly, get away from here, find somewhere safe even though he couldn't because he needed his rider to do that but oh, _what if this can't be reversed would he ever be able to fly again?_

So, he remained where he was. The aching numbness wouldn't let him do anything.

He felt his rider shift on his left. The cape was lifted, and he felt a warmth beside him.

The numbness ebbed away in the very slightest.

There were arms around him. Wrapping around his shoulders and upper back. They guided him towards the warmth, enveloping him in it.

And he welcomed it.

Because it felt right.

His rider made everything seem alright. He felt safe in his rider's arms. His rider, his Hiccup, made everything okay.

He made everything right.

His rider was talking to him, soothing him. Toothless' arms reached up and snaked around Hiccup's waist as well. He breathed in that achingly familiar scent.

The scent that meant he was safe.

And slowly, bit by bit, the numbness disappeared altogether. His jumbled thoughts lined themselves up. Slowly, minute by minute, Toothless came back to the real world.

... It was no sooner than five minutes after that when the exact same thing happened to the other dragons.

There had been footfalls. That was the first thing Toothless had noticed. His ears had twitched at the sound and he lifted his head up slightly off his rider's shoulder towards the noise. How he did it he had no idea, as he found everything to be utterly exhausting. Even just sitting there in the dark cell they were in with his rider was enough to make him want to pass out now that the adrenaline was gone.

But hey, in his defense, he hadn't transformed since he was a hatchling. And he especially had never been forced to transform either. N-no, it wasn't that; it was more like he had literally had his magic sucked from his body and caused him to transform back into a weaker form.

Speaking of that... the witch. And Alvin. They had just come into view, standing in front of the cell.

"I see the night fury's survived." The Outcast said dismissively.

"Of course he's survived! I was the one who transformed hi— "

"Quiet, witch! You're here to do our work and nothing more!" Alvin all but screamed at the woman.

The witch, despite what she was, wasn't hideous— well at least not to human standards. She wasn't absolutely stunning either, though. She seemed to look like an average human lady between the ages of twenty and twenty-five. (though Toothless doubted she was anywhere near that age) She seemed— normal. Not ugly, but pretty enough to at least attract a mate, and clothed in a variety of brown furs.

If Toothless hadn't been a victim of the brunt end of her magic, he wouldn't have even guessed she was capable of it.

"What do you want, Alvin." Hiccup said through clenched teeth, and Toothless felt his rider tense up slightly next to him.

Alvin glanced over at Hiccup in amusement, his mouth twisting into a crooked smile. "Well isn't it obvious? I'm here to get my part of the deal."

Toothless was confused. What did the man mea—

"Witch, you know what to do." The Outcast said dismissively, inspecting the sword in his hand.

"I have a name you know." The woman grumbled through clenched teeth, clutching a gem strapped to a strip of worn hide around her neck.

"I don't care! Now do as you're told before I execute you on the spot!" Alvin yelled, thrusting the sword he was holding at her. The witch leaned back slightly from the tip, pointed directly at her throat as a precaution, but otherwise showed no sense of alarm to the blade from what Toothless could see.

"Yes, Alvin." She spat, turning towards the other dragons in the arena.

She raised her left hand, the right still clutching the, now glowing, emerald pendant, and held it through the bars of the cell. Toothless only had time to widen his eyes, before there was a blinding flash of light, followed by exclamations of surprise, worry, and pain from dragons and Vikings alike.

When Toothless was able to see again, because damn that flash of light was bright, he noticed five too many humans— err, half humans, in the cell than there were before.

The other riders were calling frantically to their respective dragons, who were either frozen stiff in pain and shock, in Hookfang's case, or in a full out faint like Barf and Belch.

Hiccup had left his dragon's side to hold Astrid back, who was practically pulling the boy along in her attempt to get to Alvin with her axe. The smaller Viking was doing his best to calm her down with soothing words, but they could barely be heard over the string of uh, not so friendly words coming out of the blonde's mouth.

Stoick was already up and making his way over to Alvin, who was watching the whole ordeal with a sick mixture of pleasure and ambition, and Toothless wasn't sure he wanted to see what would happen next, so he instead chose to go and try to help Stormfly, who was the only one without a rider to comfort her at the moment.

Walking was already difficult enough as it was, but with his mind clearer than it was when the transformation first happened, and the little muscle memory he had from when he was a hatchling, Toothless managed well enough.

Stormfly looked terrible. She was sitting on the ground, her legs tucked under her, and her new arms loosely holding her upper body weight. Her Amber eyes were staring straight ahead, sky blue wings and tail laying limply behind her.

Toothless kneeled down next to her (he really just stumbled and fell to his knees but he was too proud of a dragon to admit it) and nudged her a bit. After getting no reaction, he tried a second time. The former Nadder blinked repeatedly, before slowly turning her head to look at him.

There was a spark of recognition, and she seemed to sit up straighter as she realized who exactly was in front of her. Toothless gently grabbed her forearms, and tried his best to help her stand, as it was probably roughly the same amount of time since she had been in this form as he had, and made their way back over to the stone wall a couple feet behind them.

They both sat down, too exhausted for words and just watched the fiasco around them with dazed expressions. Hiccup had managed to calm Astrid down enough so that she wasn't full on dragging the boy along with her in her attempt to decapitate Alvin, (with the weapon she didn't have, the night fury might add) Stoick had taken said time to try and negotiate with the madman; he, too, had no weapon, otherwise there definitely wouldn't have been any 'negotiating'. The other riders were tending to their dragons, who seemed to be recovering a lot quicker than Toothless felt like he was (but then again you don't exactly keep track of time when it feels like the Red Death itself is trying to claw its way out of you)

The witch, who looked deaf to the things going on around her, continued her business; she was swirling some multicolored aura-like things around her left hand, holding four vials in the other. One by one, she separated each individual shade of aura and placed them into their respective bottles, corking them before turning back to her employer.

"Here." She growled, thrusting the vials at Alvin, interrupting the not so civil conversation between him and Stoick, "I did your dirty work, now can I please be dropped off at the mainland like I was supposed to have been?" She asked.

Alvin glared at her for a moment, or no— it was more as a dismissive glance, as if he was looking at a poor slave girl instead of a powerful sorceress. (quite dumb, considering Toothless had heard many rumors about Alvin's mother being a witch herself...he didn't know how credible that was though)

"Well that would be a very nice thing of me to do now, wouldn't it?" Alvin said, fiddling with the sword in his hand, "If, in fact, you had completed your end of the bargain."

The witch looked like she was about to explode, rivaling even Astrid, who was currently drilling every axe in the universe into Alvin's head mentally. She clenched her teeth, and put on a sickly-smile, tilting her head slightly at the Outcast. "I thought I had completed it? The request to keep my sorcery a secret was to extract the dragons' magic and put them into your hands. The only fair thing to do now is to free me."

"Wrong!" Came a new exclamation from the side. Dagur entered the scene, living up to his title with a smile that was nothing less of deranged. "The deal was: extract the dragons' magic and put a usable source of said magic into our hands! And uh," he leaned in close to the witch and cackled, "I don't think this magic is usable, am I correct? PLUS, on top of that, you still need to finish you're end of the deal with me."

The witch grimaced, but bit her tongue, obviously finding that if she argued it wouldn't end in her favor. "Fine." She announced, "Just take me to a room so I can get this into a usable source. And finish your Thor-forsaken potion."

Dagur hummed, satisfied before turning heel and leading the witch out of sight. Alvin looked after him, then back to the riders.

"Well then." He said with dismissal, and strode off, leaving the gang to process for themselves what had taken place over the last few minutes. Hiccup and Astrid stood by the bars for a moment, somewhere in a limbo between shock and anger, (much like everyone else) before the shield maiden gasped, and quickly ran over to Stormfly, who at that point was struggling to even sit up. She looked just as tired as Toothless felt. Hiccup was close behind her, coming up beside his dragon and slumping down on his right.

That's how they sat for the next couple hours, wanting to formulate a plan to get out of there but not being able to summon the energy to do so.

At some point during those 120 minutes of nothingness Hiccup had tilted his head back and stared up at the ceiling. His fried brain couldn't help but mull over the last sentence the witch had said before leaving. "Just take me to a room so I can get this into a usable source. And finish your Thor-forsaken potion."

Did that imply that Alvin and Dagur were using the witch for individual purposes? It sure sounded like it. And if that's so, what potion could Dagur possibly want? And what did dragon essence have to do with it? (The Viking assumed it was actually magic but he was too tired to ask Toothless about it)

...Toothless.

Why would he hide this from him? Wouldn't he want to socialize on a more advanced level with him? Maybe the accident prevented him from being able to transform. But if that was the case, then why didn't the other dragons do it? But they all looked like they were in a great deal of pain when it happened; most all of them can't even walk... Hiccup blinked and shook his head, realizing he had zoned out. It doesn't matter. Hiccup thought, pushing back his negative thoughts, what's done is done. He probably had a legitimate reason not to tell me. I can always ask him about it later.

The wait dragged on until even Stoick lost track of time. Hiccup had started quietly humming an old Norse lullaby to keep his nerves at bay, and Toothless and the other dragons even managed to get at least an hour of sleep; waking up and feeling a bit sore, but more than relieved to at least have some energy. (Hiccup had chuckled a bit because somehow Toothless had managed to get bedhead by just leaning against him)

Soon, after Hiccup was more than positive the sun had set hours before, the tiredness turned to boredom, which then turned to anxiety; because when you wait so long on Outcast island you start to become bored, you know you're in for something big.

Soon conversation started up as the occupants of the cell tried to distract each other with small talk, well besides Stoick, who seemed to be contemplating world domination. Toothless assumed he was either murdering Alvin in his mind or determining a way to get out of there. Or both.

Toothless listened around a bit. Meatlug and Fishlegs, typically, were geeking out about something; the Twins, Barf, and Belch were talking in excited whispers, about destroying something, probably. Snotlout and Hookfang had equal glares on their faces, bonding over unspoken agreements, and Stormfly and Astrid sat shoulder to shoulder, each drawing lines in the dust on the ground in front of them, snorting or humming at each other's temporary art.

Hiccup was still humming the lullaby from earlier, Toothless recognized it as one of the ones that Stoick liked to hum when he was happy back on Berk. Toothless watched him for a bit, smiling with teeth that were too sharp to belong to a human.

At some point Hiccup realized that Toothless was looking at him, and smiled, a bit embarrassed. "Sorry," He said, fiddling with his fingers, "helps me calm down."

Toothless shrugged, having to rethink his tongue placement before replying. "It's alright." The night fury was never good with words.

Hiccup snorted slightly, and they fell into a comfortable silence, the kind you get between two best friends. They stayed like that for a minute more before Toothless sighed, slumping down even further against the wall, causing his wings to ride up his back.

"...so." He said after a moment, "how about that weather we're having?"

Hiccup's shriek of laughter could be heard all the way down the hall into the room where Dagur was not-so-patiently awaiting the finish of the potion he had requested.

* * *

 

The deranged teen was pacing the length of the room, scowling and occasionally glancing over at the witch, who had been bending over a black cauldron for the past few hours, mumbling things under her breath.

"Are you finished, yet?" The Berserker whined like a child, despite the terrifying scowl on his face.

The witch visibly clenched her teeth, turning her head slightly to make her words a bit clearer, as she was facing away from him. (as if it would make that much of a difference, he had the patience of a child) "for the seventeenth time: no, it's not finished."

Dagur growled, stomping up to the witch. "It's been four hours! How long does it take to make a stupid potion?"

The witch took a long, self-sustaining breath, as to not lose her temper, before answering. "Potion making is a tedious process. Even a single drop of something wrong could cause this entire island to implode." She wheeled on him, coming inches within his face. "Would you like to give a shot at it?" She seethed.

Dagur actually stared at the cauldron as if contemplating on taking the position over himself, before crinkling his nose and shaking his head. "That still doesn't answer my question of why it's taking so long! Alvin got his magic within a few minutes! Why does he even want that, anyway?" Dagur asked mostly to himself, "He didn't even seem to think twice about letting me have the night fury magic... just wanted the others..." The Berserker was talking to himself now, and the witch scowled for the millionth time that day.

How these impatient, imbecilic, inconsiderate, idiotic Vikings had even captured her in the first place she would never understand. Maybe it was her own stupidity...

"For the last, count it last, time: making magic into a usable source is a way different and much more simple process than actually making something out of said magic. As for what Alvin wants with the other dragon magic, that isn't any of my business, nor do I know, so I couldn't tell you even if I wanted."

Dagur stared at her for a moment, before looking back at the cauldron behind her.

"...is it finished now?"

"I'm too old for this."

The witch turned back around, officially ignoring any words that Dagur said until the potion was finished. She studied the liquid for a moment, before nodding and grabbing the vial holding the Night Fury's magic within it, slowly uncorking it and dumping its contents into the cauldron, turning the mixture into a dark blue, almost black hue.

She stirred it for a few seconds, mumbling a few things under her breath, before turning to the table holding all her ingredients, grabbing a vial in one hand, and a few more substances in the other.

"Okay, it's done." Finally. "Just a few more ingredi— "

"It's done!" Dagur exclaimed, almost not believing it, rushing foreword and grabbing the empty vial out of her hand and streaking over to the cauldron, dipping said vial into it and filling it to the brim.

"N-no wait it's not—!"

Dagur started cackling in a way that made the witch feel irony.

"I'm coming for you, Hiccup!" He said, almost skipping to the door.

"Dagur, it's— "

But he was already gone.

The witch stared at the doorway for a moment, feeling a whole new level of doneness she had never experienced in her many years of life. She felt a slight pang of regret, mostly because of what the potions intentions were to be used for.

But mostly she felt nervous. The potion was only half finished.

She wasn't sure this Hiccup kid would survive.

Toothless and hiccup had been watching Astrid and Stormfly play a ridiculously intense game of tic-tac-toe for the past hour, when they heard footsteps practically skipping down the hallway making their way towards the cell. Now, it had been the first sound they had heard outside of their cell in hours, so of course, everyone turned their attention to the growing footsteps as they got closer.

"Oh Hiccup~!" Came Dagur's sing-song as he got closer, Toothless, who's ear flaps had perked up in trying to distinguish the footprints, fell back to his hairline as he growled. "Boy, do I have a present for you, Brother!" Dagur cackled, finally coming into view, leaning against the bars of their cell, holding... something.

He was followed by guards, at least eight of them; burly and frankly a bit frightening they were. One stepped forward and unlocked the gate, and most of them squeezed into the already cramped cell, one or two left outside to guard.

Dagur's smile was sadistic, creepy, even. He was swirling this weird vial of what looked like ink in his right hand, the other one resting behind his back.

The gang, dragons, and Stoick all subconsciously stood up, expecting a fight. Dagur suddenly snapped his fingers, and eight out of the (now eleven) guards in total moved in sequence, immobilizing any person considered a prisoner in the cell.

Well, all but one, anyway.

Dagur slapped his face, and grumbled a bit. "Really, Yakson? (a/n idk just roll with the name) we've rehearsed this like a thousand times."

"Yeah, uh, sorry sir I just—"

"GO GRAB SOMEONE!"

The guard scurried away like a kicked puppy and grabbed Astrid, who was giving the guard holding her some trouble. Toothless looked around, coming to realize that Hiccup was the only one not restrained. And that Dagur was slowly inching his way towards his rider. Thankfully, he seemed to be aware of that, too.

"What do you want, Dagur." Hiccup asked, backing up slightly nervously.

Dagur chuckled, not even looking at Hiccup, instead opting to inspect the vial in his hand. "Getting right to the point now, as straight foreword as always, Brother. Well, since you asked, I might as well tell you."

The Berserker suddenly snapped foreword, grabbing Hiccup by his neck and shoving him against the wall behind him with enough force Toothless would have been sure Hiccup had broken his spine if it wasn't for the kicking of his legs. Toothless immediately felt a rush of adrenaline and anger alike course through his veins, and he immediately started writhing harder against his captor. He yelled his rider's name, only to have a hand clamp very tightly against his mouth.

"I still want my night fury." He heard Dagur whisper into Hiccup's ear, moving his hand to clamp around Hiccup's jawbone, using his arm to keep the smaller Viking pressed against the wall.

Hiccup, despite his dilemma, managed to look Dagur in the eye with an equally menacing glare. "Well too bad, you turned Toothless human. Now you'll never get what you want." He spoke with finality.

Instead of the reaction Toothless was expecting to come from Dagur, the deranged teen threw back his head and laughed, before immediately snapping out of it and returning to a too serious glare, despite his smile. "Au contraire, dear brother!" He exclaimed, popping the cork off with his thumb, and tilting Hiccup's head up towards the ceiling, clamping down ever so slightly on his throat. Toothless could visibly see Hiccup's breaths picking up as he started to freak out. Dagur leaned in close to Hiccup's ear, and whispered so quietly, that even Toothless had a hard time picking it up.

"I have my night fury right here." He said with so much confidence it sent chills from the top Toothless' human spine all the way to the tip of his dragon tail.

With a choked cry from Hiccup, Dagur then forced his mouth open and tipped the vial into it. Toothless screamed, despite it being muffled. Hiccup choked as Dagur clamped a hand over his mouth. His nose burned, along with his throat as he was forced to swallow the unknown mixture. Tears pricked in his eyes as he hacked, and he managed a shuttering breath before Dagur brought his hands away triumphantly, letting Hiccup fall back to the floor.

* * *

 

Hiccup scrambled back against the wall behind him, half hoping that if he pressed hard enough, the wall would open and swallow him whole, leading him away from Dagur. His vision began to blur as his breath quickened, hyperventilating. Whatever that liquid was, it obviously wasn't any good for him. As soon as he had come to the assumption, a knee-buckling shockwave of blinding searing hot pain shot its way through every molecule in his body, causing him to choke and fall to the ground. Yep, definitely not good.

He faintly heard Toothless scream behind the guard's hand and the protests and curses of the others, before he felt a hand grab his upper arm. He kicked and writhed, automatically knowing it was Dagur. The Berserker was almost dancing with glee as he started dragging Hiccup out of the cell. The smaller Viking kicked and yelled for a minute before another spasm of pain hit, this one rocking up and down his spine. After the bout had passed, Hiccup found with horror that he didn't have the strength to fight back against Dagur; he struggled weakly as the older teen dragged him down the hall.

By the time they had arrived to their destination, Hiccup was already delirious. Somewhere in the journey from the cell to the room they were in, something that could only be described as a burning inferno had seemed to ignite in Hiccup. It flowed through his veins in an agonizingly fast rate, and soon built up to an equally agonizing temperature. Oh, gods. Hiccup felt like he was burning from the inside out. It was suffocating him, taking him over.

Dagur had stopped short, throwing Hiccup into the room ahead of him, causing the smaller Viking to roll over a few times with a few grunts of pain, before coming to a stop a few meters away.

Hiccup curled up on himself, letting out a small whimper of pain. The fire seemed to have increased tenfold as yet another spasm of pain racked its way up his spine, this time hurting even his shoulder blades. He somehow realized that both the witch and Alvin were in the room too. Not that he cared.

A migraine had started now, driving into his skull like a million hot dull needles, blurring his already fuzzy vision and causing his ears to ring. Hiccup was dizzy now. He attempted to get to his hands and knees because, gods, he needed to get out of there, but he found that he didn't even have the strength to sit up.

Dagur stalked up to Hiccup, smiling, and shoved the teen over until he was on his stomach, placing his foot right in the center of his back to keep him pinned to the ground. Hiccup yelped in pain, and flailed like a fish out of water under his shoe for a moment. "Oh, brother." Dagur said, completely aware of the torture Hiccup was in, and feeling ecstatic about it, "How are you enjoying my present? Pretty awesome, right? Not only do I get revenge on you, but I get what I've always wanted as well!"

Hiccup's whimpers had turned into groans by now; Dagur could feel his body spasming underneath him. Dagur cackled for what seemed like the millionth time that day. "Now that I think about it, it's more of a present for me instead of you." He glanced at the ceiling and shrugged. "Oh well."

Hiccup stiffened as the inferno in his body reached an intensity he had never felt before. His head felt like it was going to explode, his body felt like it was melting. Then, after Hiccup felt he couldn't take it anymore, it converged, jolting straight into his back just as another wave of pain hit, blinding hiccup as it started as shockwaves, then melted into an endless suffocating, pulsing, terrifying agony that took Hiccup's breath away.

There was a sickening rip as the sound of breaking skin echoed through his ears. Hiccup could feel something happening to his bones. With every spasm that wracked his body, they were obviously shifting, changing, moving. He couldn't stand it. He could feel his tailbone changing, causing another intense spasm to wrack his body, tensing it up and causing him to gape like a fish out of water. His shoulder blades were in pain, too. It felt like a sword was being driven into them.

The tears were flowing freely now. His body shuttered from both pain and the weighted breathing as he tried to get air into his lungs. Hiccup hadn't realized he had been screaming until his throat burned with just as much intensity as the white-hot heat within him. Hiccup begged for unconsciousness. Out loud or in his head he didn't know, nor did he care. He just wanted it to end.

And, well, eventually after what seemed like an eternity, Hiccup got his wish. Of course, he had been to Hel and back before it happened. Hiccup had convulsed and cried and screamed and bled and shook and jerked and sobbed and everything in between before he gave one final shriek, falling limp against the cold stone floor. The inferno in his body had receded, not enough to be considered comfortable in the slightest, but enough to feel like relief to Hiccup. Active agonizing pain of shifting body parts had turned into the stationary, crippling pain of something new.

And that's when Dagur started screaming.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> part two :)

Toothless had fought with twice as much energy than he had done earlier, surpassing even Astrid and Stoick, who were both screaming profanities at Dagur as he dragged Hiccup out of the cell and down the hall.

Toothless called his riders name in desperation over and over again as he heard Hiccup's yelling get quieter and quieter; he eventually bit the hand of the guard that was holding him, causing the man to shriek and jerk away, cradling his bleeding limb close to his chest. That caused the other guards to let go of the others and make a rush towards the exit, locking the door and leaving as quickly as possible.

Toothless ran and slammed his hands against the bars, calling out his rider's name down the hall. There was no answer; Hiccup's yelling had stopped. Toothless growled, a dragonic sound that shouldn't have come out of a human's mouth, and started pacing the line of the cell, hoping to find somewhere to squeeze through, maybe.

The others had joined him at the cell bars, trying their best to peer in the direction Dagur had dragged their leader/son.

"M-maybe Dagur just wanted to...show Hiccup something." Fishlegs stated, although the way he said it made it sound more like a question than anything else, which caused even more anxiety.

"Yeah, and Hiccup isn't prone to blowing things up." Stoick muttered sarcastically under his breath, although his eyes and body language clearly showed how scared he was for his son.

Toothless continued to growl, tail swishing back and forth as he continued to pace. Astrid eventually turned around after a minute, grabbing his shoulder. "Look, I know your anxious, we all are, but sitting around doing nothing isn't going to help Hiccup! We need to get out of here!" She stated, saying the last bit to everyone.

"Uh, duh. Thanks,—

—Captain Obvious." Barf and Belch deadpanned from their positions beside one another, giving equal stares at the blonde, who stared back quizzically at the ex-Zippleback.

"... Don't question it, it's how they always talk." Hookfang added, still glaring at the bars.

Astrid blinked for a moment or two before shaking her head. "No matter, we still need to get out of here, maybe if we— "

She was cut off by a bone-chilling scream that echoed down the hall. Everyone froze for a moment, praying that it wasn't who it so obviously was. The next scream that came did the exact opposite; everyone forgot their entrapment, and repressed themselves against the bars, yelling out Hiccup's name in terror as he continued to shriek.

The screaming that was so obviously out of pain now was incoherent for the first minute. Everyone had quieted down, realizing that the yelling was useless, when they heard the first words.

"D-Dad, DAD PLEASE. _MAKE IT STOP_!"

Everyone was shell shocked. No, beyond that. There wasn't a word to describe the feelings they were experiencing in those moments. Stoick had gripped the bars so tightly Toothless was sure that they might snap in half as he yelled for his son, unsure that the boy could even hear his words of... well, not really comfort, more of a promise through a mixture of fear and anger.

Hiccup's screaming had turned into shrieks, cut off every now and then so abruptly, the only explanation Fishlegs could come up with was that he might be experiencing waves of pain.

Yeah, definitely more anger than fear.

Toothless' eyes burned. From rage is what he originally thought, but when his vision started getting blurry he realized they were tears. He quickly scrubbed them away, and continued to yell to his rider.

Another agonizing minute passed as Hiccup's shrieks became sobs. Astrid at this point was hammering the bars with her bare hands, tears at this point were broiling in her eyes too, but being her stubborn self, they refused to spill over. Stormfly eventually grabbed a hold of her, having enough sense to know it was pointless and that she would only hurt herself if she kept trying.

Hiccup screamed Toothless' name next; a heart-wrenching, desperate sound that shook the dragon to his core.

Toothless screamed Hiccup's name. He had lost all sense of judgement, and replaced Astrid's job of beating senselessly against the bars. "HICCUP!" He screamed, yanking at a bar that was at eyesight, "HICCUP IM COMING, IM GONNA MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER, THE OKAY? I PROMISE."

There was no answer. Toothless continued screaming, Astrid resumed in beating at the bars. (Stormfly found that it was easier for the girl to let her anger out on something nonliving) Fishlegs was whimpering, he and Meatlug were hugging, the twins had enough sense to know something was seriously wrong. Stoick continued to seethe, and started yelling in the directions the guards went instead. And Snotlout...was terrified for his cousin, he was just too proud to show anything beyond anger.

His stupor didn't fool Hookfang though. He could quite literally smell it. The Nightmare smiled a bit through the anger he felt.

Eventually, some guards came to tell the prisoners to shut up. That's when the tables turned. In exactly 5.76 seconds, to be exact. As soon as a guard got close enough, Stoick shot his hand out, grabbed the man, and slammed him against the bars, knocking him out. He then immediately grabbed the keys the guard was holding, and unlocked the gate.

Toothless was the first one out. He sprinted in the direction of Hiccup, adrenaline the only thing keeping his muscle memory going. He didn't even hear the cries of the others as he rounded the corner and out of sight. Hiccup had stopped screaming about thirty seconds before their breakout. Toothless had been the only one to notice as far as he could tell. Without the sound of his rider to guide him, the night fury was basically running blind. He couldn't call out Hiccup's name either; he could be captured if someone heard him, or Hiccup might not even answer.

Dagur started screaming then.

It wasn't a painful scream, like one Toothless so very much wished he could inflict upon the Berserker, more of a cry of outrage. Toothless could hear him yelling to someone, unknowingly giving the night fury an advantage.

"WHAT HAPPENED, WHY ISN'T IT FINISHED? YOU TOLD ME THE POTION WAS DONE!"

"I did not! Your imbecilic brain didn't let me finish my godsdamned sentence! I still had a few more ingredients to add!"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING THEN!"

"I DID!"

"NO YOU DIDN— "

Toothless entered the doorway just in time to see the witch from earlier blast Dagur into the wall. Alvin was next to her and unsheathed his sword, swinging it at her. The witch ducked out of the way, and swiped the vials of what Toothless could recognize as the other dragon's magic, before sprinting out of the room, almost knocking Toothless over.

Alvin and Dagur followed, paying the night fury no mind as they rushed past, set on revenge for the witch. Toothless stared after the two for a moment, before turning his gaze back into the room.

The first thing that hit him was the sickening smell of blood and fear. He almost choked on it as he took a shaky step into the room, looking around. He almost didn't recognize Hiccup at first, but when he did his heart skipped a beat.

His rider was covered in blood. It soaked his clothing and pooled around him and was so obviously his. Thankfully, the bleeding seemed to have stopped, but that didn't stop Toothless from gagging at the coppery scent. Hiccup was facing towards him, on his right side, one arm trapped under him awkwardly and the other splaying out just as much. His face was screwed up in a way that notified the night fury that his rider was still very much in pain. Or at least it seemed like it. He couldn't see or hear him breathing. The dragon held his own breath, holding completely still, staring at his rider.

Hiccup took a shuttering breath, and Toothless exhaled in relief, rushing over to him—

Only to stop midway, staring with wide unbelieving eyes at what he saw.

When Toothless first arrived, as we know, Hiccup had been facing towards the entrance, where his dragon had entered. He had been laying a good distance away, so the night fury could only see the front half of him. Unknowingly to Toothless though, that position had hid something from his view, so when the dragon made his way over to his rider, he caught the first glimpse of something utterly terrifying and heart breaking simultaneously.

Toothless choked on a cry, covering his mouth with his hand, and feeling tears spark into his eyes. This time though, he let them flow. "Oh, _Hiccup_." He wavered as the hot tears ran down his cheeks.

There, on Hiccup's bruised and bloody back, ripped through his blood-stained tunic, were two night fury wings, hanging limply in a cramped position behind him, pooling in even more blood. He had a tail too, the exact same as Toothless' aside from the two tail fins at the end. Not only that, but they looked new, the dragon noticed, like a hatchling's. The scales looked sensitive, soft, not quite fireproof. The night fury couldn't stand it.

His two tail fins. His WINGS. Toothless couldn't get it to register in his mind.

Wings. he has _wings._ gods, this isn't right.

Hiccup shifted a bit. Not much at all, really, but enough to grab his dragon's attention.

Has he been conscious this entire time...?

Toothless could see his rider's nostrils flaring, obviously smelling something. Toothless couldn't even want to think about the sensory overload his rider must be experiencing. Sure, he had his problems getting used to the dulled senses his human form held, but even then they were still way more advanced than a normal human's. On top of that, his body was supposed to be able to adapt to those changes, Hiccup's wasn't. His rider's senses had just doubled, even tripled in sensitivity, and his body didn't even know how to handle the transformation, yet alone the sensory overload. Toothless could only imagine what he must be feeling.

There was a small whimper, and Hiccup shifted some more. His hand twitched, as if he was grasping for something. When Hiccup seemed to realize nothing was within reach, he whimpered some more. It took Toothless a minute to realize that his rider had sensed him, somehow. It took him half a second after that to realize he was reaching out for him.

He stumbled over to Hiccup; the adrenaline was gone and his muscle memory had failed him again, and dropped to his knees a foot or two away from Hiccup. He reached a hand out, only to stop midair and hesitate for a moment. His rider looked so fragile. Toothless felt that if he even laid a finger on him, his rider might shatter like glass. But Hiccup was shifting with renewed vigor, obviously sensing the close range his dragon was at, and Toothless watched him for about two seconds before promptly scooping him up and cradling him in his arms.

The first thing Toothless noticed was that Hiccup was cold. And not like his skin was cold from the outside air but that he was cold on the inside. Toothless assumed it was from the loss of blood. Blood that he was now covered in and didn't care. All he wanted to do was comfort his rider.

The next thing Toothless noticed was the shaking. Hiccup's body was shaking like a leaf in gale-force winds, reacting to both the shock and the drop in body temperature. Toothless could feel his rider's wings tremor against his arms and lap as well. That was the thing that got to him the most. And yet, he still couldn't process the fact that these limbs belonged to Hiccup now.

The last thing Toothless noticed was that Hiccup was mumbling into his chest. At first, the night fury thought that they were words, and maybe they were, but his fried brain and Hiccup's state made the words start falling on non-responding ears. Despite that fact, Toothless leaned down, whispering soft words of encouraging things to his rider, no matter how ridiculous. If it was enough to get Hiccup to respond positively, Toothless would say it.

"It's gonna be okay." He shushed, mindful of his rider's sensitive hearing. Rocking back and forth, Toothless held his rider in a firm grip closer to his chest, curling around him. "You're gonna be okay, Hiccup, everything's gonna be fine, I promise I'll make everything better, okay? But in order for me to do that you need to talk to me, look at me and tell me something. Let me see your eyes, Hiccup. Please."

His voice cracked on the last word. Toothless was brushing his fingers through his rider's hair now, untangling his hair from the dried-up blood in it. He stopped mid-sentence, discovering something else. At first, he didn't realize he was touching something other than hair, until he felt the definite scales under his fingers. He looked over to his left hand, which was now rubbing a night fury ear. There was another to match it, they had been so covered in blood, Toothless hadn't even realized they were there until he had felt them.

Toothless was staring, once again shell shocked, when Hiccup said his first comprehensive word.

"T-Tooth...less?" He mumbled with a hoarse voice, furrowing his brow a bit. Said dragon snapped his head back down to Hiccup's face, resuming the stroking of his rider's hair.

"Yeah, Bud, it's me. You gave me quite a scare there."

Hiccup seemed to grimace a bit, well as best as he could through his agony. "I'm s…orry." He mumbled, hacking up a bit of blood afterwards, causing a spasm to wrack his body. Toothless jumped as his rider tensed up underneath him and let out a small squeak of pain, before he pulled him even closer than he thought was possible, resuming his rocking. It seemed to soothe him.

"Don't...don't apologize." Toothless said, throat starting to constrict once more. Hiccup was starting to lose it again; his breath had picked up and he was whimpering in fear and pain. He had even grabbed a fistful of Toothless' shirt, twisting it as if he could transfer the pain into the material. The night fury swallowed before continuing. "Hiccup...Hiccup please open your eyes. Let me know you're okay. If I see your eyes I..." he trailed off, not knowing how to finish the sentence. "Please just— "

He was cut off by a racket at the doorway, which was now facing his right. At first, Toothless thought it was Dagur or Alvin, coming back for their little unfinished project; but when he smelled an all too familiar scent, he didn't know whether to breathe in relief, or panic even more. Hiccup was already losing it with only his closest friend in the room, his dragon wasn't sure how he would react with all his closest friends/family crowding around him.

Hiccup was already sobbing again, clutching to Toothless as another aftershock wracked his body, screaming hoarsely into his chest. The night fury cradled his head as he continued watching the door, waiting for the arrival of the others. Astrid was the first one to enter, and upon seeing the pool of blood on the ground promptly shrieked, which caused Hiccup to jump and let out another cry of pain.

Toothless quickly shushed her, putting a finger to his mouth in the universal 'quiet' motion and then pointing to the sobbing bundle in his arms. Astrid visibly paled upon setting her sapphire orbs on Hiccup's bloodied, crippled state. Her knees almost gave out on her and she was lucky he had Stormfly next to her to keep her balanced, despite the Nadder herself looking just as terrified.

The rest of the Berkians followed shortly after, all experiencing similar reactions. The one that unsettled Toothless the most was Stoick's. The chief just stared at his son for a moment, eerily quiet as he took everything in. Toothless watched as the man's gaze travelled from Hiccup's blood covered face, to his soaked tunic, to the wings that were barely visible between Toothless' legs and his son's back; then to the tail that was hanging limply off to the side, flicking every now and then when Hiccup jerked as he experienced another aftershock.

And through all of that, and even after, the man stayed silent. Broiling in his own mixture of anger and sadness, remaining stoic as always.

Everyone else sat in a sort of unbelieving silence, much like Toothless had. Each one of them convinced that this had to be a dream, right? But every time Hiccup jerked or shifted, the new limbs did too, which drove into their minds that these things are actually attached to Hiccup. They're a part of his body. They're a part of HICCUP.

Eventually, after a minute or two, Meatlug, who had been observing the scene with as much logic as her mind could muster, spoke up. "Toothless?" She asked, keeping her voice low in a mindful way, glancing at Hiccup.

Toothless, who had been whispering things into his rider's ear, looked up at the Gronkle quizzically. Meatlug took that as her sign to continue. "W-we need to stretch his wings out." She stuttered, "They've been folded the entire time, I doubt they've gotten any blood flow into them. It's hurting them." Toothless paled for a moment, before nodding.

"Yeah, yeah okay that makes sense." He mumbled, glancing down at Hiccup, who had calmed down slightly. As much as he didn't want to believe the wings were there now, they were. And if they were being injured, then so was Hiccup. He mumbled something to the teen, brow furrowing when he didn't get a response, before carefully shifting him till he was sitting upright, facing Toothless.

Hiccup whimpered a bit, still laying against Toothless' chest, almost completely unresponsive to anything going on around him. The gang caught full sight of Hiccup's wings for the first time, as they were now no longer squished between his back and Toothless' legs. After getting a nod from said night fury, (because that dragon is damn protective about Hiccup) Meatlug made her way over to the two. She was followed shortly by Tuffnut, who, due to some training from the healer back on Berk, was the only person in the room with medical knowledge that surpassed basic skills.

After a hurried explanation from Meatlug, the two grabbed either wing and began to pull in opposite directions ever so slowly. Everything went smoothly for about the first two inches—

And then Hiccup wailed.

And it sent chills down everyone's spines like no other scream of his had that day.

Because not only was it a wail of pain, but it was one of understanding.

Hiccup had just realized what exactly had happened to him.

* * *

 

Now, because the wings weren't getting any blood flow into them, that basically meant that Hiccup couldn't feel them. Now yes, he could feel where the wings had ripped out and where they were now connected to his shoulder blades, but because he couldn't feel his actual wings, it felt more like something was digging into his back instead of something protruding out of it.

On top of that, he was still practically half conscious and hurting, and was focusing on the overwhelming amount of scents and touch and that with every sound above a whisper drove a migraine-inducing stab into his head. He could vaguely feel the tail protruding from right above his hips, but he was already too far out of it to take it into perspective. So basically, all of those facts added up to the point where he was only partially aware that his back was hurting and he didn't know why. It was just another thing to add to the agonizing list. It was a miracle that he even was able to distinguish Toothless at the door when he first arrived.

He had been struggling to even breathe. He had heard the faint yelling start from behind him but he couldn't distinguish what was happening. All he had known was that he was in so much pain and that everything seemed more sensitive and that his ears were ringing and that his head was pounding and that he felt like he was BURNING and why gods couldn't hehavegoneunconciousagesagoand—

There was a loud bang, followed by a tremble as the ground underneath him shook and then there was silence and then he could smell Toothless how he didn't know but he could and he was right next to him but why couldn't he touch him he couldn't feel him but he sounded so close and...

...and then suddenly his dragon was closer then Hiccup thought was possible because his scent was so strong but why and how and...

He was...in his dragon's arms now. Arms? Toothless didn't have arms— oh yeah, he was... he was human now, right? Or was that just a dream. Gods, was this all just a dream? A nightmare? When would he wake up?

There was mumbling... Hiccup couldn't understand it but it was soothing. The arms around him tightened and he felt a comforting pressure of someone encircling him from the outside world. There was a soothing pressure on his head... his dragon was stroking his hair and... came to rest on something...

"T-Tooth...less?" It was hard to speak. His throat was screaming. He was being rocked back and forth. He liked it.

"Yeah, Bud...ou gave me...scare there..." His dragon's voice faded in and out, but it was soothing and sounded the right volume but he sounded like he was whispering why was everything so loud?

"So...rry." He shouldn't have said that. He coughed and tasted something coppery in his mouth, and then another spasm wracked his body and there was so much pain and HEAT again whyisn'titoveryetplease.

Toothless said something but he was starting to lose it too Hiccup could smell it and it scared him even more and _oh, gods, please just make everything better please why._

"Hiccup...pen your eyes...let me know y...okay...please..."

There were more noises now. A loud noise startled him and he jumped because it hurt his ears. And then there were more scents and breathing and the smell of fear was stronger and there was sadness too and anger but he was in so much pain there was another spasm and more heat and he gasped for breath and...

There was... mumbling...and then he was shifting, Toothless was sitting him up. Why?

There was a... presence behind him. No... two. There was some more mumbling and then... they grabbed...something. Something that was a part of him but wasn't at the same time. He couldn't feel it, but he could feel the muscles on his back pulling as they touched... whatever they were touching. Something that he knew shouldn't be there but it was. And then they kept...pulling, causing Hiccup's back muscles and shoulder blades to scream in pain. Toothless had wrapped his hands around him tighter.

Then Hiccup finally started to feel something. Something that was a part of his body that wasn't there before. They were on his back right where the pain was and it only worsened as they stretched and they felt like...

Wings.

He didn't even know how he had come up with the assumption, but somehow he knew he was right. Hiccup wailed as the pure terror set in because he shouldn't have these wings but they kept STRETCHING and feeling was starting to make its way to them and they were PART of him and...

Hiccup could feel the wings, his wings, stretching. He could feel his muscles stretching, he could feel the muscles in his wings stretching and he could feel the people stretching his wings fingers on his wings. And they were hurting him and it was just inchafterinchafterinchafterinchofPAIN and he couldn't fight against it because he didn't have the strength to move them.

His wings. His wings.

_Wings._

And then they stopped, but Hiccup continued to shake his head and watch Toothless' hair as it swayed as he continued to rock him and when did he open his eyes why was everything so focused everything was sharper and brighter and it hurt and he was so tired but his body wouldn't let him sleep and he was so HOT and—

The stretching had caused the spasms to start back up again, just like any new movement before had. Hiccup tensed up, burying his face in the crook of his dragon's neck, gasping for breath as he waited for the wave of heat and pain to subside. He prayed for the millionth time that day to make the pain go away.

Toothless flinched with teary eyes as Hiccup wailed as his eyes shot open, slit dragon pupils and all, and slumped against him, almost causing the night fury to fall over. The dragon wrapped his arms tightly around Hiccup as he continued to scream as Meatlug and Tuffnut walked even further apart.

And then he started to kick and writhe. Toothless wasn't even sure his rider was aware he was doing it, but he had to pin his arms to his own chest and very awkwardly pin Hiccups legs under his own, so he wouldn't hurt himself further. One leg was pinning Hiccup's good leg from behind the knee and his tail was working in a similar matter, immobilizing both the best Toothless could while still supporting his rider the way he was.

He was stroking Hiccup's hair again, rubbing around the ears and whispering again, but Hiccup's ragged breathing was enough to say that he wasn't listening. Meatlug and Tuff had finished by then, and were now sitting a bit awkwardly, just staring at the wings now hanging limply on the ground.

They were smaller than Toothless', by at least a few feet in wingspan- about nine to ten feet. They would pass roughly a foot or two past Hiccup's fingertips if he were to stretch them out sideways.

Hiccup was shaking again, clutching to Toothless like the lifeline the dragon had probably become. Toothless shifted his head so that he could look over at Stoick; he had sensed a spike in anger in the man since about a minute ago, and it had only seemed to grow.

The night fury watched as the bearded man clenched and unclenched his fists in silent rage, his face though, still remained passive as he spoke. "Oh, son." He said in a low voice, gaze trailing over the broken scene in front of him. He had never even seen Hiccup cry before, seeing his son this broken was all too much for him. It was a moment before he spoke again, not really addressing anyone, more like thinking out loud.

"I'm gonna kill them! Both of them! I'll rip off their heads and FEED THEM TO THE RED DEATH ITSELF FOR WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO MY SON!"

The chief was yelling now, cursing profanities that Toothless didn't even know existed. He tried to calm the man down from his position on the floor, (the screaming was obviously causing Hiccup a lot of pain) but it seemed in vain. Toothless gave a pleading look to Astrid, who got the message and thankfully was able stop the chief from yelling.

"Sir! I know you're upset, and scared, and frankly furious, trust me, I am too! We all are, but we can't lose ourselves! Dagur and Alvin are probably who-knows-where halfway across the island right now pursuing that witch, and Hiccup needs to get to Gothi! This is our chance to get out of here!" She said, turning towards everyone else, "We can take a boat and sail back, considering our situation, so instead of sitting around, let's do something!" Now, it wasn't that Astrid didn't care about Hiccup's situation, (she actually cared way more than she wanted to show) she just really, really wanted to get off this island that would probably give her nightmares for the next month.

Stoick took a few calming breaths, still tense, and looked over at his son, who had his face buried in the crook of his dragon's neck, shaking profoundly. "He's shivering." The man stated, glancing up at Toothless.

Said dragon nodded solemnly, stroking his rider's hair. "Yeah, it's the blood loss, his body temperature's dropped a lot." He whispered, using his other hand to rub the section of back below Hiccup's wings and above his tail.

Stoick watched again for a moment, before stating, "Give him my cape, it'll at least keep him warmer.

Toothless' eyes widened as he sat up straighter. He was still wearing Stoick's cape. He had forgotten about it in all the commotion. The night fury reached up and unclasped the bear skin from around his neck, bringing it around behind Hiccup, who was still settled in his lap.

Hiccup's eyes trailed the cape as Toothless situated it, deliberately avoiding looking directly at the pitch-black wings that he could feel on himself in his field of vision. He shook his head tiredly as Toothless started to drape it over him, struggling to get away from it, causing another spasm of pain and heat to wrack his body.

Toothless was confused as Hiccup started to struggle against him, whimpering. The dragon frowned, glancing down at his rider. "Hiccup, I'm not gonna hurt you." He said with a slight pang.

Hiccup continued to struggle, despite the spasms going through his muscles. "N-no." He mumbled, "please..."

"Hiccup," Toothless coaxed, "it's just a cape, it's your dad's cape. You need to get warmed up."

Hiccup kept shaking his head, slit pupils intensely watching the blood-stained cape as the night fury held it. "No, it's... hot..."

Now Toothless was really confused, and feeling more anxious than ever. "Hiccup, bud, please..." he moved the cape to drape it over his rider, and the Viking jumped, almost falling out of his arms.

"NO!"

"Hiccup— "

"I-I'm MELTING!" He shrieked, writhing, clammy skin pressing against Toothless' bare arm.

That set off alarms in the night fury's head. How could Hiccup feel like he was burning if he was on the edge of hypothermia? Unless...

Unless he had fire.

... Well now Toothless felt more dumb than shocked. His rider was half night fury now, of course he would have fire. Even so...

The dragon looked down at his rider for the millionth time that day. Hiccup still needed to be warmed up, even with the fire within him; it wasn't helping to warm him up, instead just causing an extremely uncomfortable amount of heat as his body struggled to get used to it. Just like a lot of other things his body will have trouble getting used to. Toothless silently apologized, before bundling his rider up in the cloak that, to be honest, dwarfed him. The night fury would have cooed under different circumstances.

Hiccup didn't shriek, just continued to whimper, and jerk weakly inside of the bearskin sushi wrap. At first, the heat really was unbearable because he was burning up on the inside and now he was hot on the outside and...and then, it started to feel good, relaxed even. And...and he was...tired...

Toothless couldn't help but breathe a giant sigh of relief as finally, finally, Hiccup lost consciousness and fell against his dragon, putting him out of his agonizing misery. He waited a moment or two, listening to Hiccup's deep, calm, rhythmic breaths (which had a slight wheeze to it due to the dryness of his throat) as his rider slipped deeper into unconsciousness.

As soon as he was sure that Hiccup wouldn't wake up when he moved, Toothless shifted until he was laying down once more, before standing up, carrying his rider bridal style in his arms.

There were no words as the tired, broken and traumatized gang made their way out of the blood-stained room and down the cold stone hallways, into the twilight of the outside world. The moon was their only source of light as they trekked through the gravelly land, towards the docks.

There were no guards in sight; they had probably gone to aid their chief in fighting the witch, battle taking place who-knows-where by now. It was ridiculously easy to find a compatible boat and set sail on the eerily calm waters.

Even through all of that, even after getting on the boat and his arms felt like they would fall off from the strain put on them, Toothless never let go of Hiccup. He held his rider close to his chest, mumbling to him even though the Viking was off in the realm of the unconscious, no dreams in sight (One everyone was glad for, it was more than obvious that everyone on that ship would have nightmares for the week to come)

Hiccup slept for most of the way back to Berk; his body focusing more on delivering the nutrients needed to the new muscles attached to him now, and learning to regulate it simultaneously evidently worked faster when he wasn't conscious. Or at least that was what Toothless got from the long-winded, yet quiet explanation from Fishlegs when he got worried about the length his rider was asleep.

When Hiccup did wake up though, they were roughly a few hours from home. He seemed to still have most of his memories from Outcast Island, (Toothless cursed the gods for that; he had hoped that the memories were wiped from his mind so that it would save him from dealing with a bunch of trauma but noooooo~) and although he didn't talk all that much, as his throat was still very painfully raw, he continued to whimper and shake the entire ride, pressing into Toothless like a scared hatchling would do to its mother.

And that was where the story ended, or maybe began, dear readers. The boat continued to sail through the glassy waters, carrying with it the aura of crippling shock and fear that radiated through the air and water itself, making even the fish turn tail and swim away as fast as they could. The stench of blood and anger mingled with the confusion of the situation, creating a feeling only described in actions and silence, not words nor writing. The only sound heard as the Isle of Berk came into view in the horizon, was the whimpering of a bloody and broken child and the soft heartless whispers of his best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank for reading, I hope you all enjoyed it :)
> 
> (you'd better, it took me MONTHS to figure out how to post shit on here XD turns out my computer was just being an idiot)
> 
> There's a series of oneshots over this if yall are interested,
> 
> Until next time, my lovlies :)

**Author's Note:**

> And that's it for part one! I'm honestly just copy-pasting this from my FF.net account sooooooooo


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